‘Never questioned opposition leaders…Army showed valour in LAC’: Rajnath Singh

We have never questioned the intention of opposition leaders and only held debates based on policies, Union defence minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said.

Addressing the 95th FICCI annual convention and general meeting, he reiterated that Indian defence forces have proved their bravery and valour in the Chinese borders.

“We never put a question mark on the intention of leaders of opposition. We always debated on policies…Whether it was Glawan or Tawang, our armed forces have proved there bravery and valour,” Singh said.

His comments came amid the continuous unrest in the Parliament after he made a statement on the recent clash on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between Indian and Chinese troops in both Houses.

“The Chinese attempt was contested by our troops in a firm and resolute manner. The ensuing face-off led to a physical scuffle in which the Indian Army bravely prevented the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) from transgressing into our territory and compelled them to return to their posts,” he said in both Houses on Tuesday.

The Defence Minister said India’s journey to become a superpower is not a quest to capture other countries. “We want to be a superpower to work for the welfare of the world,” he added. Following his statement, the opposition leaders staged walkouts and lodged their protests for not allowing to discuss on the border issue in the following days of the Parliament session.

He further said that China’s GDP used to be lower than that of India’s in 1949 and in 1980, India was out of top 10 economies. “In 2014, India was on the 9th position in world economies. Today India is close to a $3.5 trillion economy & is 5th largest in the world,” he said.